The line smith

How long should my lines be?  A question we often hear.  Well there is not 1 correct answer.

The basics about line lengths

The longer the lines the slower the response but the more power you can get from a power stroke. As the kite can travel a longer path there will be more power generated. Longer lines are a good choice for light wind conditions.

Shorter lines on the other hand will give you a high response rate but less power. For all Fluid kites 24m lines are the perfect balance between power and responsiveness. Why would one choose for shorter lines? Extreme megaloops + faster response in waveriding or wakestyle with bigger kites. Shorter lines give you more slack.

Level of riding

Shortening the lines to 12 or 15m will give you a very safe way to experience flying a kite. However to get up on a board it will be much harder. The sweet spot will be very small. We would recommend 21 or 24m lines depending on the style of riding.

Gusty wind.

Wind consistency is very important when you consider changing the line lengths. We would recommend longer lines in gusty wind. This gives the kite more time to recover when the wind drops for a split moment.
24m lines will give you the best experience in this case.
Just remember that line lengths are just as important as the kite you are flying.

21M lines

21M lines will give you 40% power and 60% response rate. This setting is for the more experienced rider or when riding in strong wind. Due to the kite generating less power it’s more controllable. However mistakes on steering will happen faster due to the higher response rate. Megaloops will go LOW! but the kite will rise like no other.

We always call this the 50/50 setting it’s 50% response rate and 50% power. Ideal for allround kitesurfing. Perfect for pretty much any style of riding and for any riding level.

Recommendations by The Line smith.

I love the 21m lines in strong wind it makes the kites more explosive and are easier to handle. However i’ll ride 24m lines as long as possible as this gives me more hangtime.For megaloop sessions i tend to take a bar with 21m lines.